To encourage more young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and in honour of Ada Lovelace Day 2017, we are pleased to share profiles of women in these essential fields at Canadian Blood Services.

Innovation150 series: As Canada celebrates 150 years we look back on Canadian innovations in transfusion and transplantation medicine over the years. A series of posts feature remarkable Canadian progress - past, present and future. Part 1: Dr. Lawrence Bruce Robertson and blood transfusion in the trenches of World War I Part 2: Wartime Service and Canadian Transfusion Medicine Part 3: Meet Canada's Blood-Typing Pioneers In our first three #innovation150 posts on this blog, we brought readers back in time to the early days of Canadian transfusion medicine born out of wartime need during WW I

July marks Cord Blood Awareness Month in certain places around the world. In homage to this important campaign we collected a few related stories from the RED archives and share a bit more information about why Cord Blood matters. Cord blood stem cells can be used in the treatment of more than 80 different diseases and disorders. By donating their baby’s cord blood, parents have the power to help patients living with diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia, and sickle cell disease. Researchers continue to explore the possibilities of using cord blood in many other treatments. At

500 transplants made possible thanks to the selflessness of living organ donors and kidney paired exchange

Every day in Canada, more than 4,600 people are waiting for news that a donor has been found. Everad Tilokee shares his transplant journey during National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week.

As medical director stem cells at Canadian Blood Services, a scientist in the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa, Dr. David Allan possesses a wealth of knowledge about clinical practice and research directions in blood- and bone marrow-based cellular therapies. He is also the current recipient of Canadian Blood Services’ Kenneth J. Fyke Award, which supports health services and policy research to promote the development of evidence-based Canadian practices and policies in transfusion, blood stem cell transplantation

A searchable database showcasing our funded research projects has just been launched on blood.ca. Together with our publications database, research highlights, links to this blog, research units and other news, you’ll discover a comprehensive knowledge hub for the transfusion and transplantation community.

The Stem Cell Club is just one of many successful and impactful projects funded by the BloodTechNet competition. Do you work in transfusion or transplantation medicine? Got a bright idea on how to share knowledge? Apply for funding to bring it to life.

The R.E.D. blog launched in February 2016 and we’ve published 47 articles that have attracted a combined total of 37,000 readers. We hope you’ve enjoyed them.

Communicating science is an important part of the job for anyone involved in clinical research, whether it takes place face-to-face with the patient, a donor or the wider scientific community. Unfortunately, outreach like this can seem a daunting prospect to the lab scientist and practitioner; it is often easier to hide behind the bench or the stethoscope.